Showcase



Sept. 10, 1940. H. E. YOUNG 2,214,239

SHOWCASE Filed Nov. 27, 1937 .-H 1 A /v//////1/ \1 l f INVENTOR.

E35 l E 1 5 2, RNEY.

Patented Sept. 10, 1940 l hifhi i l @FFEQE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to a showcase particularly of the type used inretail meat markets, delicatessens and the like, and the principalobjects of my invention are, to generally improve upon and simplify theconstruction of the existing forms of showcases, and to provide astructure that may be cooled by mechanical refrigeration and which hastwo shelves or surfaces arranged for receiving and displaying meat,fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs so that all of the articles onboth shelves or supporting surfaces are readily visible to personsstanding or passing in front of the showcase.

Further objects of my invention are to provide a showcase of thecharacter referred to having in its upper portion simple and efiicientsupporting means for racks, trays, pans or the like that receive variousarticles of foodstufis to be displayed and the upper rear ortion of theshowcase having an offset or rearward projection that enables racks ortrays of increased length to be positioned on the supporting means, andfurther, to provide a showcase having in its intermediate portion aninclined shelf or floor preferably composed of concrete and covered withtile or the like, thereby providing what is commonly termed a cold slabupon which perishable articles of foodstuffs such as meats may bedisplayed, and at the same time retained in a cooled orsemi-refrigerated condition.

A further object of my invention is, to provide along the front edges ofthe display shelf, supports for the reception of decorative materialusually employed in connection with the display of meats in retailmarkets, and which decorative markets are generally in the form ofstrips of moisture-proof flexible material, cut, shaped and cooled so asto represent parsley or the like.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists incertain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts thatwill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevational View of a showcase constructed inaccordance with my invention, with the upper portion thereof in verticalsection.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the support for the decorative materialalong the front of the upper shelf.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the support for the decorative materialalong the front edge of the lower shelf or cool slab.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a pair of the sup porting brackets andthe front rail that combine to provide a support for the upper shelf.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing which illustrates apreferred embodiment of my invention, it designates the lower portion ofthe showcase which may be constructed from wood or metal, and said lowerportion including a frame ii, a front wall it, end wall such as it and arear wall M.

The rear wall it of the base structure may be composed of or providedwith doors to give access to the space within the structure Hi, andwhich space may be utilized for the storage of supplies, canned goodsand unperishable food-- stuffs.

The lower front portion of the base structure it is recessed inwardly asdesignated by it, in order to decrease the bulky appearance of the baseportion of the case, particularly when viewed from in front.

The frame it of the base portion of the structure includes an upper rearrail it, and supported thereby is a board or panel ll that graduallydeclines toward the front wall if. Overlying this board or panel ll is asheet it of cork or analogous heat insulating material and overlyingthis cork is a sheet it of metal, for instance tin, zinc or copper.

Lying on the metal sheet 19 is a body 29, several inches in thickness,of concrete, the upper surface of which is covered by tile 2 l.

, The structure just described constitutes a tile covered cold slab thatgradually declines toward its front edge, and which provides a supportfor meat and other foodstuffs to be displayed, and which slab by reasonof its inherent low temperature, maintains the displayed meat or otherfoodstuffs in cooled condition.

A gutter 22 is formed along the lower front edge of the cooled slab justdescribed which receives any water or liquid that may pass downwardlyover the tile surface, and leadin downwardly from this gutter throughthe body I!) is a waste pipe 23.

The side walls it of the showcase extend a substantial distance abovethe front and rear walls, and connecting the upper ends of said sideWalls is a top plate or panel 24 either of wood or metal, or if desired,said top plate or panel may be in the form of a glazed frame thusincreasing the visibility of the interior of the case.

A longitudinally disposed rail [2a is disposed immediately above thefront wall l2 in front of the cold slab 20, and extending therefrom tothe front edge of the top plate or panel 24 are three panels or sections25 of glass that are spaced slight distances apart thereby forming twoair chambers that function as insulators between the interior of theshowcase and the exterior thereof. This glazed front of the case givesfull view to the entire chamber within the case above the cold slab.

Disposed above the rail I6 is a longitudinally disposed rail 26, andextending therefrom to a rail 21 that is disposed parallel with andabove rail 26 are mullions 28. The spaces between the mullions 28 arenormally closed by doors 29, preferably doors that are mounted foroutward swinging movement. Rail 21, which may be of wood or metal,extends a short distance rearwardly from the vertical plane occupied bythe doors 29, and where this rail is formed of wood, it is encased orpartially encased with sheet metal 30. The rearward extension of rail2'! provides an offset for the chamber within the upper portion of theshowcase and thus enables longer racks or trays to be positioned in theupper portion of the showcase than if the upper portion of the rear wallof the case were in vertical alignment with the doors 29.

The space between the rear portion of rail 21 and the rear edge of topplate or panel 24 is normally closed by panels 3! preferably of thesliding type, thus giving ready access into the upper portion of thechamber within the showcase.

Secured to the inner faces of the mullions 28 are the verticallydisposed legs of angle brackets 32, the upper legs of which are inclinedso that they project downwardly and forwardly from the upper portions ofthe mullions.

Secured to the forward ends of the inclined upper members of brackets 32is a longitudinally disposed angle bar 33 that provides a support forthe forward ends of racks or trays such as 35 that are positioned in theupper portion of the showcase and the rear portions of these racks ortrays rest on the upper portion of rail 21. The racks or trays 35 may beof any conventional construction and of the type used in retail meatmarkets, delicatessens and the like for supporting meats and otherfoodstuffs.

The vertical flange of the rail 33 receives a strip 36 of sheet metal,and the latter serves as a support for a strip 31 of flexible,moisture-proof material that is cut, shaped and cooled to representparsley or other foliage that is used as an attractive decoration forthe trays of meat foodstuffs and the like.

Supported by the inclined upper rails of the brackets 32 is a series oflongitudinally disposed refrigerant circulation pipes 38 that form apart of a mechanical refrigeration system, and if desired, aplurality ofthese pipes may be located beneath the rear portion of the top panel orplate 24.

A longitudinally disposed strip of sheet metal 39 may be arranged in thegutter 22 at the lower edge of the upper surface of the cooled slab,which strip serves as a support for a strip 40 of artificial decorativematerial similar to the strip 31.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a showcase having 'two,shelves or structures for supporting meat and other foodstuffs ondisplay, and the front of the showcase being of such size andconstruction as to afford full vision to all portions of both shelves orsupporting structures.

The lower one of the shelves or supporting structures is in the form ofa cold slab which is particularly advantageous in maintaining in cooledcondition, meat or other perishable foodstuffs. The rearwardly offsetrail 25 provides for a material increase in the display capacity, of theupper portion of the showcase, by reason of the fact that suchconstruction permits the use of food supporting trays or racks ofincreased length.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a full- Vision tWoshe1fshowcase that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive ofmanufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which itis intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of the various parts of my improved showcase may be madeand substituted for those herein shown and described without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in theappended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A refrigerated showcase having end walls, a rear wall, a top and atransparent front wall, the upper portion of the rear wall of theshowcase being extended rearwardly a substantial distance to form anoffset or shoulder, there being an opening formed between the rearportion of said offset or shoulder and the rear portion of the top ofthe showcase, sliding panels for normally closing said opening, bracketssecured to the inner face of the rear wall and extending forwardlytherefrom just below the offset or rearward extension of said rear wall,the upper portions of which brackets decline toward their forward ends,means for supporting cooling fluid pipes on the inclined upper portionsof said brackets, a horizontally disposed rail supported by the forwardends of said brackets and trays removably positioned above thecirculation pipes supported by said brackets with the forward ends ofsaid trays supported by said rail and with the rear portions of saidtrays resting on the rearward offset portion of said rear wall.

HARRY E. YOUNG.

